Head teachers consider legal action over grade changes to GCSEs

John Townsley, head teacher of two academy schools in Leeds says they are
considering legal action against the government over grade changes to
English GCSEs.

7:12PM BST 25 Aug 2012

Mr Townsley, who had been praised by education minister Michael Gove, today said it was "unacceptable" that students had missed out on their grades "through the incompetance of awarding body processes".

The comments came after it emerged on Thursday that that top-end GCSE results had fallen for the first time in the exam’s 24-year history, with just 63.9 per cent of pupils achieved grade A*-C this year in English.

Exam regulator Ofqual has said it will "look closely" at concerns about deflated marks but Mr Townsley, who was a member of the Ofqual board until recently, claims the organisation has been "lacklustre" in dealing with the matter.